October 1, 2013

If you have a favorite diner, brunch space, or other small restaurant that you frequent, you'll instantly be familiar with the small, greenish colored tablets that the waiter or waitress uses to to take your order.

Once upon a time, Jim Williams (better known to comics readers as the man behind Super Ugly) used to doodle on his pad, coming up with some of his favorite ideas.

He decided to see what other creators could do with the space, and the result was the Guest Checks blog. Now Williams is trying to put them together in a hardcover collection via Kickstarter.

The plan is ambitious--$15,000 for a deluxe hardcover--and the concept is being billed as an art book, with production values that would make this a better fit next to your "Best of Degas" entries rather than, say, your trade paperbacks.

I was unaware of the blog when it was running, so I can only judge by the samples provided to me by Williams, but the quality is extremely strong with each creator giving things their own unique take. The book promises to have 150 of them across the 80 pages, so I'm guessing the layout will be similar to the image you see at right, which features two illustrations together.

There are quite a few reward tiers that feature art rewards, though being honest, I think the digital tier ($15) is priced a bit too high, compared to other Kickstarters I've considered and/or backed. You can pick up everything from a copy of the book to a a t-shirt to a dish towel, as well as original art.

If you like seeing artists ranging from Williams, Dave Dwonch, and Danielle Corsetto experimenting with the art form of comics, then this is a Kickstarter you should have a look at--and perhaps leave a tip.